Qin Yining was startled by that sudden shout and immediately stood up. Ji Yun, Jingzhe, and the others quickly surrounded Qin Yining, vigilantly gripping their weapons and watching the movements at the door and windows.
Before long, Ji Dashun strode in and bowed with cupped hands, saying, “Princess Consort, just now a figure flashed past the back door. This subordinate didn’t have time to see clearly what the person looked like. Perhaps it was a scout from some faction investigating your whereabouts.”
Ji Dashun was truly somewhat vexed. At such a crucial time, these few elite Tiger Guards prided themselves on their superior martial skills, yet they hadn’t discovered the opponent’s traces, clearly showing their skills were inferior.
Seeing Ji Dashun’s dejection, Qin Yining smiled and said, “It doesn’t matter. Being able to discover the opponent’s traces allows us to take precautions early.”
“It seems someone has already noticed Golden Harbor,” Xie Yue said in a deep voice.
“We kept the Princess Consort’s sea voyage secret, so no one should know about it,” Xu Weizhi lowered his gaze and pondered for a moment, then said, “I think it should be a coincidence.”
“However, we should still prepare for the worst in all matters,” Qin Yining thought and said, “During our journey back to the capital, we should pay close attention and maintain extra vigilance. More precautions are never a bad thing.”
Everyone nodded.
Qin Yining was eager to return home. After making brief arrangements, she led the group to set out toward the capital. Everything they saw along the way made their hearts heavy. The refugees were in tattered clothes, traveling in groups with vacant stares. Whenever they encountered a reasonably intact large tree, they would desperately want to climb up and strip off bark to eat. Along the route, when they didn’t encounter streams or rivers, some would crouch down and drink muddy water. Not to mention wild vegetables and game—those were nowhere to be seen along the entire journey.
It was only because Qin Yining’s group was numerous and well-guarded, with everyone carrying gleaming sabers and displaying an intimidating formation that frightened the disaster victims from approaching. Otherwise, their party would have long since encountered bandits, and even the horses they brought were the most delicious food in the eyes of those disaster victims.
Seeing them in such a state, Qin Yining’s compassionate heart was immediately stirred, and she would provide some aid when encountering orphans and widows traveling alone. But when there were many people, she dared not easily stop the carriages. She didn’t want to let people starve to death, but if she stopped, she would certainly face mob robbery, and she herself might not be able to return to the capital.
With no alternative, Qin Yining could only protect herself first before having the strength to help others.
The journey from Golden Harbor to the capital was not far, but the time experienced along the way felt extremely long. With great difficulty, they finally approached the vicinity of the capital. Qin Yining’s group found an uninhabited grove to set up camp, and everyone unanimously breathed a sigh of relief.
“After traveling for half a day more, we should be able to see the city gates around noon tomorrow.”
“Yes. Fortunately, the entire journey went smoothly.”
Xie Yue then recounted what he had learned from inquiring of people along the way, “It’s said that His Majesty returned to the capital more than a month ago but didn’t immediately enter the city gates. Instead, he camped outside the city and was subsequently welcomed by all the officials. Among the people, some say His Majesty was conducting a private inspection tour.”
“Yes,” Xu Weizhi smiled, “but many people are saying that His Majesty has the leisure to conduct private inspection tours and the resources to build imperial tombs, yet has no silver to provide disaster relief. It’s clear that popular resentment has been accumulating and will erupt sooner or later.”
For a moment, Qin Yining didn’t know what to say. Li Qitian’s conduct had become increasingly erratic in recent years. Previously, he was still willing to put on a show, but now he was too lazy even to disguise his actions. When the people suffered natural disasters, the Son of Heaven only cared about building his mausoleum and ignored the people’s calamities. Such behavior could hardly avoid arousing the people’s resistance.
Moreover, the people had no idea why the Son of Heaven acted this way. In ordinary people’s eyes, the Son of Heaven possessed the wealth of all under heaven and was the richest person in the dynasty.
A wealthy Son of Heaven who was so stingy toward his own people and showed no concern for them—Li Qitian’s behavior would sooner or later provoke public anger.
“Tomorrow we’ll return to the capital, and we can discuss the next steps with His Highness,” Qin Yining smiled, “Our journey has been relatively smooth without much delay, so there’s still time for His Highness to find solutions.”
Xie Yue laughed heartily, “It’s rare to see the Princess Consort having problems that require waiting for His Highness to handle. Usually, when encountering any difficulties, before His Highness can even extend his hand, the Princess Consort has already taken care of everything herself.”
“Indeed,” Xu Weizhi also smiled. He wanted to tease a bit more but worried that Qin Yining might be thin-skinned, so he said no more.
Someone brought out the prepared dry provisions and other items, and everyone received a share of freshly boiled water. They all began eating the dry provisions with hot water.
Seeing that Qin Yining showed no disdain for the dry, hard steamed buns, Xie Yue and Xu Weizhi naturally felt great admiration. Sometimes, despite the fatigue of travel, they felt very fortunate that whenever they saw Qin Yining, she was always smiling, always spirited. Even when she suffered hardships, she never complained to anyone, and she was so approachable. They truly admired her greatly in their hearts.
After finishing their meal, everyone began to rest, leaving only a small portion to stand guard around the perimeter.
Ji Yun stayed in Qin Yining’s tent, while outside the tent, Jingzhe, Liao Zhibing, Ji Dashun, and others were arranged to stand guard in shifts, maintaining very tight security.
Most of the night passed, and it was obviously safe tonight, so everyone relaxed their vigilance slightly.
Jingzhe and the others changed shifts, leaving Xiao Xue to stand guard outside.
Just when Xiao Xue was so tired she could barely keep her eyes open and was relying solely on willpower to stay awake, she suddenly heard a series of hurried footsteps.
Xiao Xue was instantly alert, jumping up from beside the fire pit, “Get up quickly! Look quickly!”
Xiao Xue’s voice wasn’t particularly loud, but everyone instantly got up, their expressions vigilant. Even though they were so sleepy they could barely open their eyes, they all forced themselves to observe their surroundings.
After waiting for the time it takes to brew a cup of tea without seeing any movement, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
Who would have thought that at this very moment, they suddenly saw a group of farmers in tattered clothes rushing over under the stars and moon.
Qin Yining couldn’t see clearly in the moonlight. When the people got closer, Qin Yining suddenly realized that these people were probably not refugees.
Although their clothes were torn, she had seen enough along the way to know just how emaciated genuine disaster victims would be.
The people before her now, dressed as refugees, were each robust in build. While none were particularly fat, they all had standard physiques. They didn’t look at all like people who had suffered from hunger and cold, which could be seen just from their complexions and overall bearing.
Seeing the crowd about to approach, Xu Weizhi and Xie Yue nervously ordered everyone, “Protect our master!”
This shout snapped everyone to attention.
Qin Yining said in a deep voice, “Since these people plan to attack a rock with an egg, we might as well see what they can do.”
Just as everyone prepared their defenses, the opponents began shouting loudly, “Dog Emperor! He’s hoarded wealth and grain! Making us go without food! Rob them!”
Everyone felt somewhat tense. Seeing the opponents about to approach, Qin Yining commanded in a deep voice, “Form ranks and stand ready. Capture them alive if possible, but if not, maintain strict defense and don’t let all these people escape.”